The spacious North River home Cherokee started life as an icehouse, built in the 18th century.
It was typical of the icehouses of that century. In form, it was circular. In construction, it was of brick, with walls 8 inches thick. The icehouse was two stories, with dirt piled halfway up its walls to provide insulation for the ice kept inside.
In 1922, William Fleet Taliaferro and his wife Elizabeth Stewart Taliaferro lived next door at The Exchange and the icehouse was part of the property. With a great deal of work, they converted the icehouse into a lovely retirement dwelling. They added a front door on the river side, grand windows, and an addition to include bathroom, kitchen and dining room. Cherokee is now home to Gayle and Hunter Merrill.
Elizabeth Taliaferro, an artist and a founder of the Gloucester Library, described the conversion for an article in the Gazette-Journal when the house was opened for Garden Week in 1956:
“As we sat on the porch at The Exchange, my husband, pipe in hand, tilted back in his chair and said, ‘Do you know what I think? I’m tired of running firewood to keep all these fireplaces going … I should like to make a home in the icehouse!’
“We looked across the lawn. There, at the farthest end, was the picturesque old icehouse. Earth was mounded about it to some height; playful little lambs were frolicking and running up and down its grassy slopes. In former days, huge quantities of ice had been stored in it, and the owners of The Exchange and their neighbors had kept large quantities of meat in its depths.
“‘But you would freeze,’ I said. ‘Not at all. I should build a huge fireplace—a big chimney—and we could cook all our meals in the fireplace very easily.’ Eventually, however, he consented to have a small addition built to the main round structure. A builder was engaged—Mr. Robins of Ware Neck. My husband explained to Mr. Robins and together they worked it out. Sometimes the problems involved appeared very difficult and both men spent many a sleepless night trying to work out the answers.
“There was the staircase, for instance. My husband knew what he wanted, but how to explain to anyone else? The answer finally came out—but how to finish the last steps and post? We found the correct design on a Christmas card. The house, being round, the staircase, fireplace, bookcase, etc., must be on a curve. We found the fireplace and the mantel we wanted on another Christmas card … It was of utmost importance that the fireplace should ‘draw.’ So my husband engaged a man who was an expert on chimneys. He brought his own assistants, all deacons in their church, so the fireplace was blessed; it always drew.”
A view of Cherokee in 1956, a year when the home was also open for Garden Week. It has grown considerably in the intervening 65 years.
The “round room” on the first floor became the living room, and the house was named Cherokee for the roses that grew there.
Since then, it has grown in every direction, with the icehouse tower still the dominant aspect of its roofline.
Cherokee is a gracious home with magnificent views of the North River. The circular first-floor room is the dining room, with a perfectly round table in the center. An earlier expansion of the house created an intimate interior courtyard garden which has since become a light-filled space for Gayle Merrill’s art studio. Visitors will enjoy seeing her vibrant floral paintings, as well as collections of art, hand-blown glass bottles, decoys, and steins. Other notable features include a grandfather clock from the 1700s and a vintage slot machine.
With its history as a humble icehouse, Cherokee is a singular experience.
Directions from Ware Episcopal Church (headquarters): From the church parking lot, turn right onto Route 14, turn right onto Exchange Drive. Go straight 1.4 miles
The volunteers
At Cherokee, the head hostesses are Peggy Montgomery and Suzanne Scott. Flower arrangements will be led by Eleanor Gardner and Tina McManus.
Hostesses will be Roxanna Andersen, Brenda Ashe, Nancy Dransfield, Tabb Farinholt, Eleanor Gardner, Jenny George, Kacki Haggerty, Susan Haley, Jeannie Hockaday, Carol Lawrence, Valerie Lewis, Elizabeth McCormick, Tina McManus, Nancy Messbarger, Marilyn Muron, Sue Perrin, Beth Richardson, Patty Shaw, Darlene Talbott, Bambi Thompson and Kim Williams.
Flower arrangers will be Sarah Finney, Susan Haley, Nancy Messbarger, Cara Randolph, Beth Richardson, Julie Stone, Darlene Talbott and Bambi Thompson.
Parkers will be Alex Celia, Joe Celia, Butch Edmonds, John Montgomery, Everett Outland, Ken Richardson, Jeff Watkins and Byron Williams.